Chapter 66

The black kit fox stood firmly on trembling limbs, glaring at me, its dull-furred tail held high in a threatening manner.

Most people would probably feel sorry for the fox, thinking its appearance, which could only be seen as vain, was pitiful.

"Hey, big sister. That kit is on full alert."

"I know. Everyone, don't overstimulate it. It might get scared."

Despite saying this, it was clear there was no room for negotiation. The kit might have fallen into a distrust of humans due to the harsh treatment by those who had abducted it... or maybe the recent AI is just too advanced, learning to be wary of the human species through self-learning. This game is too realistic.

"Well, let's start with taming it."

Saying this, I placed several plates with grilled meat, vegetables, cooked seafood, and sliced fruits near the kit. As I approached, I could clearly see its fear. I moved to the midpoint of the initial distance, thinking it would run if I got any closer, and placed the plates there, then retreated.

The kit, still wary, glared at me without letting its guard down. I chuckled at its caution and stroked Rui's head, who seemed worried about me, and reassured her.

"Let's just watch for now. Just watching is fine."

Although this encounter with Rikuru and the others took a bit more effort, I decided to observe the kit little by little. Even Mew, who had tried to forcibly hug Rui, wouldn't dare to touch the kit, which was a mix of warning and fear. In fact, Mew seemed the most confused by the kit's appearance.

The kit, clearly hungry, kept its gaze shifting between me and the food in front of it. Thinking it wouldn't eat while being watched, we all deliberately averted our eyes.

Only then did the kit make its move. It approached the plates with small steps and started eating the food bit by bit.

Forgetting its caution, it ate greedily, not noticing that I was watching. After finishing the food on the plate, it seemed to remember and took a step back, strengthening its guard.

"If it can eat properly, there's no need to worry, Yun."

"That's true. Though it still seems hungry."

Agreeing with Magi's words, I collected the empty plates from the midpoint and refilled them.

The kit, though still cautious, ate the food again.

I repeated the process of collecting and refilling the plates while eating my own share, watching the kit.

After several repetitions, it seemed to be full and returned to its bed, curling up with its tail. By this time, its fur had improved significantly. The rapid improvement in fur quality was surprising and felt a bit strange.

"Hmm, Yun, it's sleeping. Shiachi and the other young beasts might also be ready to sleep. Should we put them to bed?"

"Sure. After cleaning up the meal, let's continue our discussion."

Saying this, I led the four young beasts, including the one already sleeping, to our log house. Rui, though a young beast, was taller than my waist and of considerable size. Today, I created a simple bed of straw outside, where Rui started to sleep.

"Phew, finally a break. I feel like I've been working non-stop since we got back, cooking and all."

Saying this, I took out some herbal tea from my inventory and drank it to relax after the meal. The intense battle by the lake, the life-risking attack on the flames, and the barbecue upon returning home—yes, I was tired.

"Alright, let's decide on something. How about starting with the reward for the party that helped Yun?"

Claude suggested this, and my tired mind started to work again.

"Ah, right. Probably the necessary items are weapon and armor durability restoration, a replacement for Lucart's broken weapon, and potions. Is that okay?"

I called out to Lucart, who was relaxing by the campfire.

"Yes, that's fine. But it feels like too much. We've already been treated to dinner."

"Don't worry about it. We're doing it because we like it."

"But..."

Lucart tried to protest, but I thought it was fair. There was a possibility of retirement if he had been burned by the flames, and I even felt it was cheap. However, the atmosphere suggested that Lucart and the others were not entirely convinced.

"Hmm, how about this. Instead of just giving a replacement weapon to Lucart, we'll make a custom-made one for you. We'll take care of the maintenance too. The current option is a steel sword. Is that okay?"

"Wh-What!? That's too much!"

"In return... how about trading it for some item? A give-and-take."

"Alright, is that fine with everyone?"

Lucart asked the other members, including Mew, and they all gave a pleasant response.

"Then, I'll leave it to you."

"Alright, let's start making it?"

"Hold on, Magi. We're not done yet. We still need to appraise the rare weapons Yun found."

"Right, we can't forget that."

I took out the battle axe, a pair of short swords, a magic staff, and a longbow from my inventory. Mew and the others, curious about the weapons, came closer to look, but without the corresponding senses, they couldn't appraise them.

"Hmm, quite a menacing appearance. I like the axe with the red flickering blade."

"Hmm, these short swords are mine, right? Magi, please appraise them. I'll appraise the staff and the longbow."

Saying this, the two of us started appraising the weapons, and our faces, which had been relaxed, suddenly tensed. It was more a look of intense joy than tension.

"Hey... Magi, how are yours?"

"Hmm, all the weapons have the same performance. The developers have good taste."

Saying this, we each received the corresponding weapons.

Commander Wolf's Longbow [Weapon]

A longbow used by Commander Wolf, a skilled archer and a beastman.

ATK +25

I thought, "Is that all?" because it had almost the same performance as Magi's knife and was inferior to the weapons made by Riri.

But the next message surprised me.

[The additional effect capacity of this weapon can be up to 15, compared to the usual maximum of 10. As a unique item, it cannot be stolen or broken. Additional effects can be freely deleted, but to add them, the same process must be repeated.]

"Ha ha ha... Giving a customizable weapon base to a production class. The developers have good taste."

Claude laughed, sounding both happy and eerie. I understood what he meant, but the atmosphere was scary.

Magi, too, was delighted, saying, "Only in OSO would we get the chance to make a unique weapon."

Riri even said, "If we get a cheat weapon here, the existence of the production class will be negated."

Indeed, giving people who can make their own weapons a better or mediocre weapon would be disappointing. In that sense, it was the best choice.

But...

"For now, I don't have a clear vision for customization. What should I do with this?"

I looked at the bow again.

Mew's eyes were sparkling. I had a vague idea that it was something special, but seeing Mew's greedy look made me feel uneasy.

"Wow, it's super rare! A dream weapon that can be modified. I'd want it even if I had to steal it."

"That's dangerous. I don't want to be PKed."

"Ah, there's a possibility of PK. But even if it can't be stolen, there will be envy."

"Magi, what are you saying so casually?"

I glared at her, and she laughed, saying, "Just kidding," but it didn't sound like a joke.

"Thanks for the best weapon, Yun."

"Sure, as someone who aims to enrich their own equipment in the game, I'm happy."

When Riri and Claude said this, I felt both happy and a bit itchy.

"Don't worry about it. But that's it for the discussion. Later, send a screenshot of the lake bottom to Claude. And Lucart, you need potions. Tell me the types and quantities you need. I'll prepare them tomorrow. Oh, Magi, can you give me some gems? I used too many today."

I quickly wrapped up the conversation, and everyone started their tasks.

Magi gave me the gems and minerals she had collected today and started making the sword for Lucart.

Claude, while talking about repairing my damaged armor and the status of others' armor, had his eyes slightly wandering. He was probably checking the bulletin board while working. He was quite skilled.

Riri, too, was working on restoring the durability of the staff, but since there were two staffs, one for Kohaku and one for Reri, she took on the most appraisals of the undetermined items.

And I...

"Yun, this is one of the items as a reward for today."

"This is... Sweets Factory!?"

"Yes. The reward items are this and a book dropped from the Himatsubu Scissors. We can't read it."

"Then, where is the book?"

"Ah, Claude has it now. He says he'll read it later."

Claude, hearing this, waved his hand lightly.

"Can you show it to me later?"

"Later. But it's mine."

"I know!"

I wanted the book, but reading it once would be enough. Oh, but a collection of all the volumes would be impressive.

Immersed in this thought, I was brought back by Lucart.

"...So, Yun?"

"Yes?"

"I'm looking forward to it. Sweets."

"...Sure."

The cute girls smiled at me, looking happy and excited. Yes, for the sake of sweets, for the sake of snacks.

It's fine, I thought. I wanted to make sweets anyway.

Deciding to spend my night making sweets, I considered the ingredients and tools.

The tools included a magical whisk, a bowl, cake molds, cookie cutters, and an infinitely expandable heat-resistant container. Baking powder, which is always in infinite supply, was also available.

Most of the necessary tools and basic items were available.

The ingredients included flour, vegetables, fruits, and eggs. Unfortunately, there was no milk, so I couldn't make complex dishes. But I had already decided what to make. The item that caught my eye was very familiar.

That's right—Blue Jelly. It's the raw material for Blue Potion and, when taken a step further, becomes the food item Blue Gelatin.

Using my skills, I mass-produced Blue Gelatin. Blue Gelatin is a light blue powdered gelatin.

The cooking process was simple.

I heated the water produced by Rui and added the gelatin to make it dissolve easily.

While the gelatin was dissolving, I took out and finely chopped fruits like apples, strawberries, and tangerines. Occasionally, Mew, Reri, and Hino would come to snack, and I would check the dissolved gelatin.

Once the gelatin was completely dissolved, I tasted the light blue liquid and found it lacked sweetness. So, I added sugar to adjust the sweetness.

After confirming that the sugar had completely dissolved, I placed the fruits in the infinitely expandable heat-resistant container and poured in the liquid.

The container filled with the smooth liquid, and a vivid jelly was formed.

"Hmm, finally something sweet! Big sister, you're the best!"

"Don't eat it yet. It's not cooled down. This is for tomorrow."

Even so, 30 pieces might be too many for ten people and five young beasts. I had made more than necessary due to the strong heat of the stove and the size of the attached pot.

Moreover, there was no refrigerator in the campsite. The only option for cooling was Rikuru, who was now asleep, and we couldn't wake him up for our convenience.

Also, to make cookies or other common sweets, we lacked butter and other necessary ingredients.

"Be patient. I just need milk to make sweets."

Saying this, I put the jelly in my inventory.

The jelly's status was Blue Hawaii Jelly. I thought, "Slimes have a Blue Hawaii flavor?" in a simple way. The name of the saved jelly had (at room temperature) written after it, which wasn't a happy piece of information.

However, the detailed status had some good news.

Rating 5

Hunger Recovery 10% 1 hour of MIND +5

Well, it's originally a monster ingredient. I had heard that monster ingredients enhance status, but this was the first time I saw it. And it was even more satisfying because I made it myself.

"Hmm? What's wrong, big sister?"

"Nothing, really? I'm tired from today, so I'm going to sleep."

"Ah, okay. Good night."

"Good night."

I called out to everyone present and headed to the log house first.

Yesterday, Riri was the first to sleep, but now, I felt a sudden wave of sleepiness.

I made sure the unfamiliar dress didn't get tangled and lay down on the bed.

I glanced at the sleeping kit fox, Rikuru, Kutsushita, and Neshias.

As I closed my eyes, exhausted, my consciousness quickly fell into darkness.

My last thought was, "I was quite